Poll: Rick Perry gets just 45% job approval rating, but he’s much more popular in Texas than Obama

Texas on the Potomac is pleased to share some of the best national political content from the Texas Tribune. This story is adapted from a Trib article written by Ross Ramsey.

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Rick Perry

President Barack Obama remains very unpopular in Texas, with only 35 percent saying they approve of the job he’s done as president and 59 percent registering disapproval. The extremes look even worse for the president, with only 14 percent strongly approving and 53 percent strongly disapproving.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s approval numbers aren’t great, but he’s soaring in comparison to Obama: 45 percent approve of the job he’s doing, while 37 percent disapprove. The Republican incumbent leads Democrat Bill White in the poll’s head-to-head match-up, 50 percent to 40 percent &#151 meaning that some people who don’t approve of Perry’s performance as governor plan to vote for him anyway.

Republicans also lead in generic contests for Congress and the Texas Legislature. Asked whether they’d vote for an unnamed Democrat or an unnamed Republican for Congress, 51 percent chose the Republican, 33 percent chose the Democrat, 8 percent chose “neither” and 8 percent didn’t choose. The same question on legislators got similar results: 48 percent for the Republican, 33 percent for Democrat, 8 percent for “neither” and 10 percent didn’t choose.

“For whatever reason, Obama seems to be Velcro and Perry seems to be Teflon,” pollster Daron Shaw says. “Voter discontent in Texas appears to be hurting the Democrats despite the Republican monopoly on statewide offices. It’s the federal government that Texans are focusing on.”